Hopefully Roger Goodell wasn’t planning on getting a meal at Brother Jimmy’s BBQ restaurant next time he’s in Miami.

Three NFL linebackers, including Denver’s own D.J. Williams, have made it clear Goodell isn’t welcome.

Williams, New Orleans’ Jonathan Vilma and Carolina’s Jon Beason recently opened the new restaurant, a branch of the New York City barbecue joint, and even more recently, signs have have appeared in the shop’s windows declaring Goodell as persona non grata inside.

“It was terrible,” Mays said. “We know how we can come out and play this game. We know that we can come out and play with the best of them. We definitely didn’t show that this past weekend.”

The starting defense played together into the second quarter, when several starters were then replaced. Players including Mays, linebacker Wesley Woodyard, defensive tackle Ty Warren and cornerbacks Drayton Florence and Chris Harris, who played nickel with the starters, remained in for the whole first half.

The Broncos allowed Seattle to go on an 11-play, 54-yard drive that ended in a field goal in the first quarter. The Seahawks scored two more field goals in the second quarter.

The Broncos’ starters have yet to allow a touchdown in the preseason, but Mays said the unit was unhappy with the way it performed against the run on Saturday. Seattle finished with 228 rushing yards, including 76 in the first half.

“We gave up too many big plays. Most of it came from the run,” Mays said. “We just have to be better.”

Mays was particularly critical of his own performance. He tied for the team lead in tackles, with four, including one for a loss, but he was focused on the tackles he didn’t make.

“A lot of people said I missed a lot of tackles, and I did,” Mays said. “I wanted to kind of wipe that out a little bit, and I felt I kind of set myself back just a little bit for a quick second. It’s going to get better. It happens to the best of us, but I just have to continue to keep a positive mindset to keep coming out here and working.”

Once the regular season starts in September, D.J. Williams won’t be allowed at Dove Valley, won’t be able to work out in the team’s weight room, attend meetings with Broncos coaches or practice with his teammates.

Those are the rules that go along with Williams’ six-game suspension for violating the league’s banned substance policy.

But for now, Williams remains part of the Broncos’ 90-man preseason roster. He missed two practices this week to attend his trial on drunk driving charges (he was convicted of DWAI – a lesser alcohol-related offense), but otherwise has been at every practice.

He even traveled to Chicago with the team last week, though he did not suit up and did not play.

That brings me to Saturday night. Will Williams see the field against Seattle?

Rookie linebacker Danny Trevathan couldn’t have attached himself to a better role model as he walked off the Broncos practice field Sunday night.

Trevathan walked and chatted with Bronco legend Karl Mecklenburg, who is helping coach the Broncos’ pass rushers in an unofficial capacity during training camp.

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Rookie linebacker Danny Trevathan (right) with Broncos great Karl Mecklenburg and head coach John Fox after Sunday's afternoon practice

Perhaps Trevathan can learn from Mecklenburg’s career.

Mecklenburg was a late-round draft pick by the Broncos (12th round in 1983) who always played above his draft position. He spent 12 seasons in Denver and is in the Broncos’ Ring of Fame.

Trevathan was a sixth-round pick this year, in part because of his undersized stature and a hamstring injury that prevented him from working out at the NFL combine.

Trevathan is the only rookie currently getting work with the starters when he plays with the first-team defense on the nickel package.

“You have to hang in there. It’s tough out here, but you have to be that guy. When you’re called on, you know how to handle yourself,” Trevathan said Monday.

Trevathan has been thrust into action because the Broncos must figure out how to replace longtime starter D.J. Williams, who will miss the first six games of the season while serving a suspension. Weakside linebacker Wesley Woodyard has replaced Williams in the base defense, but Trevathan routinely joins middle linebacker Joe Mays as the two linebackers in the nickel defense.

Trevathan said Williams has been helping him with his adjustment to the NFL.

“We play the same position, so it’s been a real blessing to have that guy behind me,” Trevathan said. “He told me, ‘You just have to play ball out there. You have to be your own guy. There are going to be guys that can read you, but you have to be able to nitpick the quarterback.'”

As the Broncos open training camp today, there will be a change at the weakside linebacker position. For the first time since he was the team’s first-round draft pick in 2004, D.J. Williams won’t be with the No. 1 defense.

His six-game suspension isn’t all bad for the Broncos.

First, the Broncos will save $1.76 million of his $5 million salary.

Second, Williams’ replacement Wesley Woodyard is a sideline to sideline tackling machine who, because he is undersized at 225 pounds, tends to wear down by season’s end.

So Woodyard plays ball for six games, maybe seven or eight as Williams works his way back into playing shape. And then, after the schedule lightens up some, a fresh Williams comes back to make an impact in the second half. We’ll see.

Broncos linebacker D.J. Williams will be at Dove Valley for the start of training camp, but the veteran and longtime starter won’t get much work with the starting defense when practices begin Thursday morning.

Williams will be suspended for the first six games of the season for violating the league’s banned substance policy. The league said Williams submitted a urine sample that was “non-human.” Williams already lost his appeal to the NFL, and had his lawsuit in which he was suing the league for its handling of his case dismissed.

“Obviously he’s going to miss a big portion of the season,” head coach John Fox said Wednesday. “We already know, going in, that he won’t be with the ones in games one through six, so I don’t know that he’ll get many one reps in this camp.”

Look for veteran Wesley Woodyard and rookie Danny Trevathan to get reps with the starting defense in the base defense and nickel packages. Middle linebacker Joe Mays might also wind up with an expanded role.

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“Not very much,” Fox said, when asked if the “breach” would affect the Broncos’ defense.

Williams left the practice field without speaking to reporters.

“I think our players do a great job with social media,” Fox said. “You’re not going to get through a whole season unscathed. The world has gotten a lot smaller, but overall I think our guys do a great job.”

There is an NFL head coach who, before the rumble of electronic progress could be heard, would fine his players $100 per page for a lost playbook.

And that fine was only first step, the welcome mat to the dreaded 1-on-1 meeting in said head coach’s office, which would include a long list of paint-peeling profanities sandwiched around the words “release” or “waived” or “done.” I asked the same head coach this past weekend what he would do if one of his players had not simply lost a playbook, but rather voluntarily posted several images from an iPad playbook on a Twitter account or anywhere else on the vast expanse of the online world.

When Mays is on the field with Miller, or in the film room watching tape of Miller, Mays said he can’t help but be amazed at what the 2011 first-round draft pick can do.

“The way the guy can just spin, dip and rip, just do all those types of things, I can’t even explain it,” Mays said Tuesday. “It’s amazing the type of things that he does naturally.”

Miller won the NFL’s defensive rookie of the year award and made the Pro Bowl last season, despite playing the last month of the season and the playoffs with a cast on his hand to protect his surgically repaired thumb.

From the time Broncos linebacker Von Miller unpacked his combo video/still digital camera early in the 2011 season to the aftermath of the team’s playoff loss in New England, Miller took “tons” of pictures and shot “tons” of video that chronicled his rookie season in the NFL.

With the Broncos poised to make three picks Friday in the NFL draft, here is a look at the player pool they have to choose from as they work through the draft’s second day.

At No. 36 — the fourth pick of the day — they will likely be looking at a pool of candidates that could include Connecticut defensive tackle Kendall Reyes, Stanford tight end Coby Fleener and Georgia Tech wide receiver Stephen Hill. Fleener and Hill, in particular, may already be gone having carried first-round grades from most teams into this draft.

The Rams, in particular, who will pick at No. 33, are on the hunt for a wide receiver and had A.J. Jenkins targeted in that spot, but Jenkins went in the first round Thursday night. Fleener is likely the best player on the board for some teams when they open things up today and if he were there when the Broncos were on the clock he would certainly test the team’s best-player-available mantra there.

LSU wide receiver Rueben Randle, who the Giants considered with the No. 32 pick Thursday night, is also still available and is one of the more polished receivers on the board.

In the defensive front Reye is an athletic player who has tested better in workouts than he played at times in his career with the Huskies. But he has flashed plenty of potential and performed well at the Senior Bowl, winning many 1-on-1 battles with some of the best offensive linemen on this draft board during the practice week in Mobile, Ala.

Clemson’s Brandon Thompson is also a candidate in the second round as well and projects into either a nose tackle in a 3-4 or an interior anchor in a 4-3 like the Broncos play. Thompson was one of the strongest players on his team.

The Broncos figure to take a hard look at ASU quarterback Brock Osweiler today too and will come out of this draft with a developmental passer. At cornerback Central Florida’s Josh Robinson is worthy of a second-round pick as is Georgia cornerback Brandon Boykin. Boykin could also give the Broncos a potential top-shelf returner.

And at linebacker Miami’s Sean Spence and Nebraska’s Lavonte David have the kind of instincts and athleticism to fit the Broncos’ scheme. Spence is one of the most savvy players on the board while David is a non-stop, high effort player. Utah State’s Bobby Wagner deserves a look as well.

Miami of Ohio guard Brandon Brooks, a massive prospect at 346 pounds who also ran a 4.99 40-yard dash at his pro day, is just the kind of power player head coach John Fox likes in the Broncos front as well.

There can’t be many more difficult matchups in the AFC than a linebacker trying to hang with Patriots tight end extraordinaire Rob Gronkowski.

But at times that will be the challenge facing Broncos linebacker Joe Mays on Sunday at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. The 6-foot-6, 240-pound Gronkowski is just a second-year player from the University of Arizona but already ranks among the best. His 71 receptions ranks third among NFL tight ends, behind New Orleans’ Jimmy Graham (80) and Atlanta’s Tony Gonzalez (73).

“You just try to get your hands on him as soon as you can,” Mays said of Gronkowski. “(You try to) jam him on the line, slow him down, slow his momentum down, just make Tom Brady look somewhere else. That’s what we’re going to try to do this week, and hopefully it works for us. We’re definitely going to try to work hard to get that done.”

MINNEAPOLIS — Broncos rookie linebacker Von Miller will not play today against the Minnesota Vikings.

He was listed as inactive because the team decided to give him a week to recover from surgery to repair torn ligaments in his right thumb. In his place, Mario Haggan is expected to start at strongside linebacker.

Miller was named NFL defensive rookie of the month for November and has been a critical part of the Broncos’ resurgent defense.

For the second time this season Broncos rookie linebacker Von Miller has been fined by the NFL for a hit on an opposing quarterback.

Miller was fined $25,000 for a hit on Jets’ quarterback Mark Sanchez in the Broncos’ Nov. 17 win over New York in in Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Specifically Miller was cited for “roughing the passer” and striking an opposing quarterback in the chest area with his helmet.” Miller was also penalized as a repeat offender this season.

As Elvis Dumervil feels better, Von Miller is more comfortable and the Broncos pass rush has been a big part of their recent 4-1 push.

And the Broncos have been able to make things happen with a four-man rush the majority of the time.

A significant item since the quarterback the Broncos will face this Sunday is Philip Rivers, who leads the NFL in interceptions with 17. The Chargers overall are also tied, with the Eagles, for the league lead in turnovers with 24.

Broncos defensive coordinator Dennis Allen wants to be aggressive, but the video shows the Broncos usually rush four in passing situations, by a wide margin, that Allen simply chooses to have variety in which four players he sends after the quarterback.

Through 10 games the Broncos have rushed four players on 45.5 percent of the pass attempts they’ve faced. They’ve rushed five on 21.5 percent of the pass plays they’ve faced and rushed three on 12 percent of the pass plays they’ve faced.

One of the features of Allen’s scheme is that as plays evolve and receivers clear specific areas on the field, the Broncos will add players to the rush. On a play where four players may rush on the snap, one or two may join as the play goes on.

Overall the Broncos have ended up with six or more players in the rush on 20.9 percent of the pass plays they’ve faced.

What it all means, is Dumervil and Miller give the Broncos the ability to be the most difficult kind of defense for offenses to attack. A defense that can consistently rush the passer with four players, especially in critical third-down situations, has far more options in coverage.

In some of those four-man looks Allen has been willing to move Miller and Dumervil around the formation as well. Miller has made some impact plays coming up the middle of the formation, especially against the Raiders earlier this month when Miller repeatedly beat Oakland’s rookie center Stefen Wisniewski.

Dumervil since recovering from shoulder and ankle injuries this season has also taken snaps at his usual right defensive end spot to go with left defensive end. And Allen has usually inserted linebacker D.J. Williams into some of those plays as well.

Miller and Dumervil have combined for 6.5 sacks in the last three games while opposing quarterbacks have thrown four interceptions in those three games combined.

“That’s what you’re looking for,’’ Dumervil said. “If we can get that pressure up front, maybe you make them make a mistake and if you can get there with four that leave more plays in the back who can make a play.’’

Neither of these nominations should come as any surprise to football fans who watched the Broncos’ 17-13 win against the Jets last Thursday:

Broncos linebacker Von Miller is up for the NFL/Diet Pepsi Rookie of the Week award for the third time this season — he is still looking for his first win. Miller had 10 tackles, 1.5 sacks, four quarterback hits, a forced fumble and three tackles for a loss against the Jets. It was a breakout game for the No. 2 overall pick in the draft — in an already impressive season.

The Broncos offense, led by quarterback Tim Tebow, are up for the GMC Never Say Never Moment of the Week for the 95-yard game-winning touchdown drive against the Jets. The Broncos also won the award last week for Tebow’s 56-yard touchdown pass to Eric Decker against the Chiefs, and in Week 7 for the team’s fourth-quarter comeback against the Dolphins.

Miller was flagged for roughing the passer on the play and the league cited Miller for striking Palmer in the chest area with his helmet. Palmer had already released the pass when Miller arrived for the hit as well.

Raiders linebacker Aaron Curry was also fined $20,000 for his hit on Broncos quarterback Tim
Tebow in the gamem specifically for striking Tebow in the “head and neck area.” Raiders defensive end Jarvis Moss was also fined $15,000 for driving Tebow into the ground after a hit as well.

Sixth-round draft pick Mike Mohamed has been signed to the Broncos practice squad, a day after he was cut from the 53-man roster to make room for tight end Dante Rosario on the 53-man roster.

To make room for Mohamed on the 8-man practice squad, the Broncos cut John Nalbone, a tight end who was signed on Tuesday. Nalbone became expendable a day later when the Broncos signed veteran tight end Dante Rosario.

Mohamed got caught up in a numbers game when the Broncos needed help on offense to replace injured players. The Broncos are deep at inside linebacker, with D.J. Williams getting close to returning from an elbow injury, to join Joe Mays, Wesley Woodyard and third-round pick Nate Irving.

Woodyard led the Broncos in tackles in Sunday’s 24-22 win against Cincinnati with 13 total tackles, including 10 solo stops. Woodyard has started the past two games at weakside linebacker while Williams — the team’s leading tackler three of the last four years — has been recovering from a dislocated elbow.

Woodyard’s biggest play came on the Bengals’ final drive. Woodyard glued himself to tight end Jermaine Gresham and dove in front of Andy Dalton’s third-down pass. Dalton also threw incomplete on fourth down to seal the win for the Broncos.

“Before the play, I just asked God to put me in a position where I could go out there and make a play for my teammates,” Woodyard said. “He put me there, and I made a play. Big thanks to God and my teammates for believing in me.”

Nicki Jhabvala is a Broncos beat writer for The Denver Post. She was previously the digital news editor for sports. Before arriving in Denver, she spent five years at Sports Illustrated working primarily as its online NBA editor. She also spent two years as a home page editor at the New York Times.